Park’s boys basketball won their first game of the year. Park started strong, keeping the lead for most of the game, eventually getting their first win in 23 consecutive games dating back to last year, breaking the streak against Minnehaha Academy on Dec. 15.
Head coach Arsenio Richardson said this win meant a lot for the boys and he takes pride in how they played.
“Super emotional, super emotional. Kids playing hard. We had one of our former players that was killed a couple of weeks ago. We went to his funeral today, so heavy hearts today, but the boys came out and fought, we battled through adversity,” said Richardson. “Tyshawn Lyons, he was on point guard on the team two years ago. You know, 2021 grad, heavy on my heart, I never asked them to play for me or do anything for me, but they said they’re gonna,wear it on a sleeve and play for me. So they laid it on the line man, super proud of the boys tonight.”
Junior Micah Curtis said if the team keeps playing hard with passion, they will keep finding success.
“We all played together as a team and we battled hard and we got the game done. We played defense well and we pushed the ball and attacked them,” Curtis said. “We just got to play how we did at the end for the whole time and just keep putting teams away.”
Junior Noah Margolis said he feels like the team’s hard work and preparation paid off this game.
“Means a lot, teams don’t start underestimating us as much, so they might come in and do it a little harder. Which doesn’t make us better in the long run,” Margolis said. “I felt like we made them worse, the defense we played, all of this hard work and knowing their plays and like knowing what’s coming to us.”
Richardson said this game was a test to their team’s skill, showing the team’s great week of practice can make them win important games.
“This game meant a lot like it wasn’t just like a regular game, like this was a bragging rights game. We got like year bragging rights, and then we lost 23 games in a row dating back to last year,” Richardson said. “Wednesday’s practice was phenomenal. Thursday practice was phenomenal, guys getting after it, guys hold each other accountable. And it really showed up tonight.”
According to Curtis, this win had a lot of importance, to get the team’s momentum going, showing signs of success.
“This one means a lot. We have had some tough games in the past and we got to bounce back today and we got to celebrate,” Curtis said. “We just talked about how much it means and how we got to cherish these moments and this will go by fast, we just got to play our hearts out every game.”
Park boys basketball plays Tartans at 7 p.m. on Dec. 19 at Park’s main gym.
